The Guardian
by Jaxom
Summary: [RanmaSM Crossover] A slightly older Ranma has moved to Juuban seeking a new life away from his fiancees. Unfortunately his simple life comes to an end with the escalation of demon attacks in Juuban. When the Sailor Scouts are killed, who is left to pr
1. Chapter 1

A New Guardian.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
by Jaxom   
  
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, and whoever else she lets have a hand in it. I'm just a hopelessly poor fan attempting to pay tribute. Suing me will cost you more in legal bills than you could possibly get out of me.  
  
***********  
  
Ranma yawned loudly as he made his way across the rooftops of Juuban. Boredom was only a recent problem for the young martial artist. Living in Nerima he could expect attacks from Kuno, Ryoga, Pantyhose Tarou, Mouse, Happosai, and a host of others he couldn't even begin to list. Nerima was loud, chaotic, and quite often dangerous. It wasn't great for the property values, but it was never dull.   
  
His first month living in Juuban was something of a mixed blessing as far as Ranma was concerned. He didn't have any of his old enemies to worry about, and his fiancees couldn't find him, but there was nothing to do. There were almost constant demon attacks, but a bunch of superheroes in schoolgirl costumes were running around beating those up. He'd decided the first time he saw them to avoid getting involved. The last thing he needed was new girlfriends that came complete with magical powers and enemies capable of summoning armies of demons. Besides, they looked silly.  
  
At first he'd thought that guy in the tuxedo might be fun for a sparring match. Ranma had been watching a lot of their fights though, and he'd come to the conclusion that the guy was hopeless. What kind of loser let's their girlfriend do all the fighting? The little pink one with sugar hearts was more useful than rose-boy!  
  
At 20 years old, Ranma had many of the same problems he'd had during his time at Furinkan, but Juuban definately had it's advantages. He had his own apartment, which thankfully very few people knew how to find. He had to commute to Nerima every day to work, but roof hoping that far was a good way to start the day. His jumping range had certainly improved from all the practice, he didn't have to land on every roof anymore, he'd jump the occasional roof comletely. He wasn't quite leaping tall buildings in a single bound, but given another month or so he might be eligable to put an S on his chest like that American guy.  
  
The biggest advantage of living in Juuban was that none of his fiancees could find him. If they wanted to talk to him, they had to go through Nabiki. The prices she charged just to pass on a message to Ranma made it prohibitive, and her price for actually revealing his apartment would have bankrupted the entire Amazon village. It surprised Ranma sometimes that things had improved so much between himself and the middle Tendo daughter since his failed wedding with Akane.   
  
It was Nabiki that had helped him set up his apartment, and his new life in Juuban. She'd suggested that an area that was so obsessed with demons and sailor-girls wouldn't notice if his presence added a little to the general weirdness index. She claimed she only helped him because it saved on repair bills at the dojo, but Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi still ruined the place every second day trying to find him. Akane said she didn't care where the pervert had gone, but Nabiki was having to buy practice dummies in bulk so Akane wouldn't run out.   
  
Feeling a chill run down his spine, Ranma stopped his progress across the rooftops at the top of a 3 story apartment building, and tried to make out what could have alerted his danger sense. He half expected to hear Ryogo scream "Saotome! Prepare to die!" There was no sign of the Lost Boy though, or anyone else on the rooftops. It might just be another demon attack, but after watching all those other demon attacks Ranma had figured out how to sense when they were around. He didn't really sense that kind of evil nearby. Listening more closely he could hear what sounded like heavy breathing, and wimpers from the alley next to the building.  
  
Leaning over the edge of the building, Ranma looked down into the alley to see what was going on. From time to time Ranma had come across street thugs and Yakuza over the years, they usually had nothing more impressive than a knife or baseball bat, and no training to speak of. So Ranma was surprised when he saw three men in black ninja attire with katanas menacing a young girl in a high school uniform.   
  
She looked to be around 17 years old, probably in her last year of high school, and she was obviously the source of the wimpering noises. Examinging her attackers, Ranma concluded that the outfits were not just for show, all three of them had impressive ki power. Nowhere near his level, but they wouldn't have been out of place in Nerima either. From what he could sense the leader was about on par with Mousse. 'Well, at least I'm not bored anymore.'  
  
Natsuko, the intended victim of the three kanana weilding thugs felt the entire situation was taking on a fantasy quality. She'd been coming home from her Computer Club meeting at school when these three men had pulled up in a black car and tried to grab her off the sidewalk. She'd managed to avoid their first attempts, but they had followed her as she ran. Scaring her further when they forced her into the alley, and drew weapons. Visions of rape, robbery, and murder ran rampant through her head as they approached her.  
  
So focused was Natsuko on her impending death, that she did not notice when a dark shape fell to land with absolute silence behind her assailants. It did get her attention though when the shape started to glow bright blue. Natsuko gasped as the figure suddenly went into action, lancing out with a kick to the back of one of her lead attacker that sent him crashing face first into the brick wall beside her. Before the other two had a chance to react her saviour leapt 10 feet straight up, pointed his cupped hands down at them and screamed "Moko Takabisha!!"  
  
A ball of blue energy blazed down to strike the ground between the remaining ninjas and blast them into the walls of the alley and instant unconsciousness. Natsuko watched the glowing figure land lightly in the crater he'd just created, and the nimbus around him died out leaving a really cute guy dressed in a red Chinese shirt looking at her with concern. Overwhelmed by the danger of the attack, the chase, and her sudden rescue by what was obviously a Kami, Natsuko felt the world go dark as she joined her attackers in unconsciousness.  
  
***********  
  
Ranma sighed to himself for what must have been the hundreth time as he hoped from roof to roof with the schoolgirl on his back. He'd pinned her attackers to the brick wall of the alley about 5 feet above the ground using thier swords and clothes to keep them pinned and immobile until the police could find them. For reasons he couldn't explain he'd anonymously reported the crime by phone before taking off with the victim. He wasn't quite certain what had possessed him to bring her with him instead of giving her to the police when they arrived, but something told him that the best way to keep his life from getting any more complicated was to avoid letting his name show up in any official reports.   
  
He couldn't just leave her there alone incase somebody else came along before the police, so lugging her around the rooftops seemed his only option. Figuring out what to do with her made things a little harder than he'd anticipated though. His first instinct was to bring her to the Tendo Dojo, but he immediately rejected the idea as he wasn't in the mood to face DemonHead-Soun and HammerHead-Akane.   
  
He'd have similar problems almost anywhere he brought her, at least if there was anyone there that would recognise him with the possible exception of Dr.Tofu. She didn't seem to be injured though, so there was no reason to get the doctor involved. Why can't things ever be easy. 'She had to go and pass out so I can't just leave her behind. Any minute now she's going to wake up, and probably hit me with something. I thought I'd be able to avoid this stuff when I left Nerima!'  
  
He wasn't really comfortable with bringing his charge to his apartment, but he didn't have anywhere else he could take her. At least until she woke up and told him where she lived. Reaching his building, Ranma opened the door on the roof and descended one flight of stairs to his own apartment on the top floor. Ranma always made a point of coming in through the roof rather than the main lobby, he was a lot less likely to run into any of the other tennants that way. Out of sight is out of mind, and he prefered that none of them thought about him much. A few people probably wondered who lived in his apartment, but not enough to come knocking.   
  
Entering his apartment with a smile of contentment at being home, Ranma laid his unconscious burden down on his futon and wrapped the blanket around her. 'Well that wasn't so bad. No mallets so far. Better call Nabiki though...'  
  
*********  
  
Nabiki laughed to herself when she looked at the call display for her ringing phone. The small amber square said Saotome Nabiki. "Hey Ranma, how's the free life?"  
  
"Hey Nab-chan!" Ranma responded, "You busy? I've got a problem."  
  
"It's not Ryoga again is it? I can't hide you from him, he doesn't know where you are and he STILL finds you."  
  
"Naw, I haven't seen pig-boy in a few days. Not since the red Sailor decided he was a demon and tried to set him on fire."  
  
Nabiki laughed at the mental image of one of the Sailor Scouts chasing Ryoga around Juuban trying to make him into roast pig. "Sounds like you've got some impressive bodyguards over there, maybe I should leak some info to Happosai about that place."  
  
"heh, just tell him there's a bunch of half dressed women running around dedicated to love. They're lousy fighters, but if the old freek starts groping the blonde ditz they'll go nuts and kill him."  
  
"I can't believe you're still watching them, Ranma. You said yourself that you could probably take them all."  
  
"They aren't martial artists, but they do something with magic and ki. I think if I watch a little more I can figure it out." Ranma said, sounding slightly excited.   
  
"Should I start calling you Sailor Ranko now?"  
  
"erk.."  
  
"So what's the problem Ranma-kun?" Nabiki asked seriously.  
  
Nabiki could hear Ranma sigh expansively from the other end of the line. "Another girl! What else could it be with me?"  
  
"It can't be!" Nabiki protested, "I checked, there are no other fiancees. Unless the panda has gone out this week and added to the list." Nabiki swore loudly, another fiancee could ruin everything she and Ranma had set up. Especially if this one was in Juuban.   
  
"She's not a fiancee, it's kinda complicated. Would you be able to come out here?" Ranma asked, his voice sounded almost nervous at the prospect that she might refuse.  
  
Nabiki's frown deepend as she tried to imagine what could have happened to worry the untouchable martial artist so much. "I guess so, I'm not working tommorow or anything. I'll be there in about an hour."  
  
"Thanks! I'll make sure she doesn't wake up before then!" Ranma hung up before Nabiki could ask why the mysterious girl was asleep in the first place.  
  
Juuban wasn't actually an hour away, but Ranma's finacees knew that she visited him sometimes, and occasionally they followed her around hoping to see where she was meeting him. It would take at least 20 minutes to ensure she wasn't being followed before she could head over to his apartment safely. 'Sorry girls, you screwed up. I'm not going to let you ruin things for me too.'  
  
***********  
  
Thanks to a shiatsu pressure point, Natsuko was still asleep when Nabiki arrived. Ranma explained the encounter, and how he'd come to have the younger girl asleep in his futon.   
  
"All right, first things first." Nabiki said decisively as she walked into Ranma's kitchen and returned with a glass of water, splashing him in the face with it.   
  
"What'd you do that for!" The now red-headed Ranma-chan asked, glaring at her attacker.   
  
"Because you're too cute for your own good Ranma-chan." Nabiki smirked slightly at Ranma's obvious frustration. "You rescued this girl from a gang of ninjas, wrapped her up in your own bedding, and stood guard over her while she slept. If you're still 'cute' when she wakes up, you're going to have another girlfriend on your hands."  
  
"erk..." Ranma paled slightly, and shuddered at the idea of having another crazed girlfriend. Especially one that would know where this apartment was.  
  
"Exactly." Nabiki said, and gave Ranma a mischevious wink. "Luckily I've got a plan."   
  
***********  
  
Natsuko awoke smiling to herself at her foolish dreams. Ninjas attacking her, and handsome kami rescuing her in dark alleys? That was like something out of a Shojo manga, especially with that whole glowing thing. It reminded her somewhat of episodes of Dragonball Z she had seen. Though his hair didn't turn all blonde like theirs did. She squirmed around slightly, annoyed that she seemed to have gone to bed wearing her uniform. That was until her squirming made her aware that she was not in a bed, but seemed to be laying on a futon.  
  
She sat up with a start, and stared wide-eyed in confusion at the unfamiliar apartment. It was obviously a guy's apartment from all the martial arts posters on the walls, in the middle of the apartment a punching bag hung down. It was strange though that there didn't seem to be any of the other usual toys she expected from a guy's room. Natsuko had three male cousins, thier apartments were practically wall papered with pictures of women in bathingsuits or lingerie, and they had shelves full of manga and anime.  
  
This room didn't have any manga, or anime, there wasn't even a TV. No posters of women either though with the exception of a couple of framed pictures. One showed a beautiful red-headed girl beating a panda over the head with a bamboo pole. The panda certainly seemed to be in pain. The other showed the same redhead with another girl, a slightly older girl with brown hair cut in a page-boy style. Each had an arm around the others waist, and they were smiling brightly at the camera.   
  
Wandering over to the apartment's sole window, Natsuko glanced out to find herself in a neighbourhood easily recognised. She was only about a 5 minute walk from her school. Though she was finding herself more and more curious about how she'd come to be in some strange man's apartment, until the door opened in from the hallway and two familiar young women came in. The two women from the picture.  
  
"Oh, you're awake." Ranma-chan said, smiling at the younger girl. "We were just out getting something to eat, I didn't expect you to wake up soo soon."   
  
"Are you feeling better now?" Nabiki asked, looking the girl over. She hadn't paid much attention to the younger girl's appearance when she was wrapped up in Ranma's futon. She wasn't surprised to discover the other girl was stunning though, any woman that wandered at random into Ranma's life was going to be beautiful. That's just how things worked with him. Thankfully Ranma himself barely seemed to notice the difference.   
  
"Umm...yes..I'm fine." Natsuko replied, "Where am I?"  
  
"My place!" Ranma-chan said cheerily, trying to look as feminine as possible despite how much she hated it. "You fainted when some guys were attacking you. We took care of them, and then brought you back here."  
  
So it wasn't a guy's appartment, the redhead must be some kind of tomboy. Natsuko was beginning to convince herself that she had imagined it, or at least part of it. The kami that saved her in the alley had a pigtail, just like the redheaded girl. When she fainted, maybe she dreamed the rest of that stuff. Her recuers certainly didn't look like they glowed. Kami don't just jump into fights and rescue people either, it had to be a hallucination. Natsuko gathered what dignity she had left, and managed an awkward bow. "Th..thank you for rescuing me." she said breathlessly.   
  
"Hmm? Yeah sure, no problem."  
  
"My name is Yorihiro Natsuko, I'm sorry for all the trouble."  
  
A mildly embarassed Ranma scratched the back of her head and laughed. "No big deal, they weren't very good anyway."  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Saotom..." Ranma coughed slightly when Nabiki elbowed her in the stomach. She remembered belatedly that she was trying to avoid turning up in any police reports or news shows.   
  
"This is Tendo Ranko," Nabiki replied. "My name is Saotome Nabiki. We're glad you're all right."  
  
"Thank you very much, Saotome-sama"  
  
Unnoticed by Natsuko, Ranma was starring slack-jawed at Nabiki. 'SAOTOME NABIKI?!?!?!?!'  
  
***********  
  
Ranma sat on the roof of his apartment building, dangling his legs over the empty space beneath as he stared up at the stars above. They'd taken Natsuko home right after giving her some breakfast, and he was pretty confident she wouldn't be able to identify him or Nabiki. Nabiki had even made a point to take the most confusing route she could think of, even going in circles twice to make sure Natsuko wasn't able to keep track. He didn't really think she'd come looking for him or anything. Less rediculous things had happened to him though, and they almost always involved women.  
  
Nabiki would be staying over the night, by the time they'd dropped of Natsuko it was too late for her to catch a train home. Ranma had offered to roof-hop her back, but she refused. For some reason she was always terrified when he brought her home that way. It's not like he ever fell!   
  
Ranma smiled to himself when he pictured what would happen if Akane or the other fiancees found out how close he and Nabiki had become. They all believed Nabiki was covering for Ranma because he was paying her to, if his father found out that he actually got along with Nabiki he'd probably do something stupid like engage them. Tendo wouldn't give it a second thought either, any one of his daughters could marry Ranma as far as he was concerned. Of course, nobody gave a damn what Ranma thought about the matter.  
  
Marriage. Just thinking of the idea sent a shiver down Ranma's spine. Dates and stuff he could handle, but marriage sounded far too permenant. At one point he'd considered marrying "Tendo Ranko", just so people would get off his back. Thanks to some fancy paperwork by Nabiki his female half did have a seperate identity. It wouldn't fool any of her fiancees or family though. Except maybe Kodachi, she might be insane enough to believe it.   
  
"Yen for your thoughts?" Nabiki asked as she came out onto the roof with Ranma.   
  
"Saotome Nabiki?"   
  
"I thought it was amusing," Nabiki said, grinning impishly at him. "Perhaps you would prefer Saotome Akane?"  
  
"I ain't marrying Akane!" Ranma snapped, turning to glare at the middle Tendo daughter.  
  
"Easy boy, if I wanted you to marry her I wouldn't have arranged for Ukyo and Shampoo to bomb your wedding"  
  
Ranma shivered slightly at the memory of how close he'd come to marrying his tomboy fiancee. It was easy to predict what would happen if he married her. He'd inherit the Tendo Dojo, teach the Anything Goes style to a bunch of uncoordinated kids that didn't take it seriously, and eventually Akane would feed him something he couldn't survive. Which may or may not be deliberate. "I'm never going to be able to repay that, am I?"  
  
"Pfft, Shampoo and Ukyo paid me well enough on your behalf. Just don't make me do it again, it took forever for Akane to stop glaring at me over that one. Despite everything I think she really does love you."  
  
"Joy"  
  
"I don't think you understand how lucky you are Ranma. You've got about a dozen women chasing after you, they are all very dedicated, and all beautiful. Kuno would kill to be in your place."  
  
"I've got a lot of what I don't want. He can have 'em."  
  
"Now there's a pretty thought, Kuno with his own personal harem. He'd keep one in each room of the house, Akane for the dojo, Shampoo for the bedroom, Ukyo for the kitchen, and he'd probably keep me in the study so I could handle his accounting."  
  
"Bah, why would you join the harem?"  
  
"Well I was your fiancee once too, remember? If Kuno is going to adopt your harem he might as well get the complete set." Nabiki sat down next to Ranma to join him in his star-gazing. "Afterall, he will still have to pine away for his Pigtailed Goddess, even with the rest of us keeping him company. I will be expecting a rescue though."  
  
"You want to be rescued from Kuno's money?"  
  
"No need to hurry. You can rescue me after I rescue the money." Nabiki laughed.  
  
Ranma stopped his reply as he felt his hackles rise, and his skin begin to crawl. Tensing slightly he turned to look past Nabiki, he could feel something in the distance. When he'd first come to Juuban he hadn't understood what the feeling was, but after watching the sailor girls fight, he knew. What he felt was similar to the negative ki Ryoga used to fuel the Shi Shi Hokudan, a single point radiating a feeling of darkness, lust, and pain. It was the aura of something incredibly evil. There was a demon nearby, and it had just revealed itself violently.   
  
When he first realized he could detect the demons, he'd started seeking out the battles they had with the Sailors. He never got involved, but he would watch to see how they fought, and how the girls destroyed them. The demons didn't seem to be able to use their dark ki like Ryoga did, but it wasn't due to any lack of pure power. The attacks they did use were always physical or magical.They had increadible ki power, but they had no control whatsoever. The uncontrolled ki auras broadcast their emotions if you knew what to look for. To ranma it was like neon signs, and reading them had become instinctive. He found in time that he didn't have to see the demons anymore to feel those signs, he just knew. Occasionally he found himself able to predict their movements and attacks as they fought the Sailors.  
  
"What's wrong?" Nabiki asked, turning to see what he was looking at.  
  
"There's another demon attack," Ranma said, standing in an attempt to sense more. "I don't sense the girls though, I don't think they know about it yet."   
  
"Ranma....don't...." Nabiki said, grabbing his wrist to stop him incase he decided to intervene. "You're a martial artist, not a superhero. You don't want to get involved with them, remember?"  
  
"They are not coming. He knows that, so he's going to kill her." Nabiki starred at Ranma in horror, his expression completely blank as he related what he could sense of this demon. Ranma's voice sounded like it was coming from a great distance, rather than from the young martial artist beside her. "He's excited, he can feel her pain. He's enjoying it, he know's they aren't going to stop him, she knows it too somehow. She can't fight him, and she knows she's going to die."  
  
"Stop it, Ranma." Nabiki said, shaken badly.  
  
"She wants to die now, because they won't come to her. She is one of them."  
  
"Please.., I said stop it."   
  
"I will." Ranma said, the life returning to his voice. "I will stop it."  
  
Before his words could register with Nabiki, he had shaken off her grip and leapt from the building. She watched him vanish into the distance a he jumped from roof to roof.  
  
***********  
  
Ranma could feel himself approaching the demon, he could sense it in the distance like a dark lighthouse. The closer he came the more clearly he could feel both the demon, and his victim. She was getting weaker, but he could feel her better now, and he confirmed for himself that it was one of the Sailor girls he'd seen before. He hadn't recognised her at first because she was too weak. Ranma leapt past the last few buildings seperating him from the demon.   
  
Landing lightly on the street, he saw his quarry. The demon looked like a twisted combination of human and animal. It's face was vaguely human, but for the pointed ears and curled horns. It wore a shreded black trench coat like a cloak, and smiled at Ranma with a look in inhuman glee as he landed. It's voice was eerily beautiful, it was soft, but it carried to Ranma as clearly as if he stood next to the creature instead of across the street. "I felt your approach."  
  
"Then you should have run." Ranma said, releasing the hold he kept on his battle aura, and allowing it to flare to life around him.   
  
"The Princess is dead. Crystal Tokyo is dead, destroyed before it could begin. I have nothing left to fear." The demon gestured to the fallen woman at his feet. "The defender of the gates is dead. It's only a matter of time before they are ours."  
  
Ranma could still feel a slight life force within the fallen sailor, and silently thanked the kami that the demon didn't realize she was still alive. "Even if you're right, you won't be around to see it."  
  
The demon darted forward to attack Ranma, attempting to collide with him in the chest like a living battering ram. The instant before he moved Ranma felt his intentions, and stepped aside casually. "You've got a lot of brute strength there, you remind me of somebody."  
  
Slashing at Ranma with a clawed hand, the demon sought to rend the pigtailed martial artist, only to have him duck beneath the blow and deliver a palm-thrust to the demon's chest, knocking the wind from its lungs. Ranma took the opportunity to put some distance between himself and the creature until he could figure out what would stop it completely. 'This thing takes a hit like Ryoga! That should have shattered his chest! I'm going to have to hit him with something big.'   
  
"Yeah, you're a lot like the tomboy. You've got the strength of a gorilla, but you're clumsy as an ox."   
  
"Are you just going to hit me little human?" The demon asked as it regained it's breath. "Where are your magics? This one knew a few interesting tricks. All your punches can do is slow me down, human." The demon's battle aura was beginning to flare around him as he walked towards Ranma, small balls of energy beginning to gather in the palm of each hand.  
  
Ranma kept pace with the demon, backing away as it approached to maintain the distance between them. The energy his opponent collected reminded him of black lights, glowing with a dark purple light that didn't seem to brighten anything. Enhancing his vision with his Ki, Ranma tried to see beyond the surface appearance of the impending attack. He recognised the silver sparkles of energy that he recognised as magic, and the red haze that always seemed to permeate the attacks of the demons when they faced off against the Sailor girls. 'That could hurt, a lot.'  
  
Glancing around for something to use against the demon, Ranma saw a staff laying beside the injured Sailor. The staff had a heart shape on the end of it with a red jewel, but despite it's silly appearance it was obviously still a weapon. Ranma waited until the creature looked as though it was ready to throw it's attacks, then leaped between the two howling balls of magical fire. The explosion of the attack behind him gave Ranma an extra push as he rolled with his momentum, and came up beside the downed sailor. His hand closed around her weapon.  
  
The Staff of Time, key to the Gates of Time could only be held by the guardian of those gates, Sailor Pluto. The demon knew this, and waited to see the foolish human consumed from within by the power of the staff, a smile spreading across his face.  
  
Ranma gasped slightly as he felt a surge of power run through his arm as soon as he touched the staff. It was like a sudden burst of ki was filling him, and he felt his battle aura expand with it's power.   
  
The demon's smile turned sickly as the human's already impressive battle aura doubled bathing the street in an intense blue light, the staff slowly changed in his hand. The heart shape seemed to shrink within the red jewel even as a curved blade emerged from it's end, transforming the staff into a naginata. "Only the Guardian can use that staff!"   
  
Ranma closed the distance between himself and the demon before he had a chance to recover from his shock. Striking it in the stomach and doubling it over in pain, Ranma spun the naginata like a quarter staff before bringing the blade down on the back of the demon's neck severing it completely. "I guess that makes me the Guardian, ne?"  
  
*********  
  
This is my first public Fanfiction. Please let me know what you think, reviews are more than welcome! 


	2. Chapter 2

The Guardian

Chapter 2

by Jaxom

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, and whoever else she lets have a hand in it. I'm just a hopelessly poor fan attempting to pay tribute. Suing me will cost you more in legal bills than you could possibly get out of me.

-----------

Sailor Pluto glared at the scene playing out before her as she gazed through the Timegate. The final battle of her fellow Senshi, and the death of her Princess at the hands of six demonic creatures. She still couldn't understand how the attack had even taken place. She'd spent centuries watching over the future of Crystal Tokyo, using the Timegates to show her anything that might threaten it. The Inners had finally defeated Neherenia. She was expecting a brief rest before the next challenge. There wouldn't be a long wait, but a couple of months to let things settle down before the next disaster was certainly something she had anticipated happily. Instead of a much deserved rest fate had handed her absolute disaster in the form of a horde of demons.

These demons did not fit into the chain of events she had predicted before the arrival of Crystal Tokyo. Somehow the possibility of their attack had gone unnoticed by the Time Gate until it was too late. Occasionally things did catch Pluto by surprise despite her connection to the gate. That was usually because her future self had warned her against looking at something too closely. Sometimes fore-knowledge is more dangerous than helpful.

She had watched the months to come very closely on a number of occasions though, and she knew that these incidents were not supposed to have occured.

The creatures themselves were a horrific sight to behold. No two were alike, though they were variations on the same theme. They looked like the demons Hollywood produced for movies, or creatures from the Island of Dr.Moreux. Twisted brutes with the combined features of men and animals. They looked altogether more frightening than typical Negaverse monsters, particularly because they spurned the typical frilly too-toos and bizarre weapons that their previous foes had favoured so often.  
The demons had begun attacking a few weeks earlier, surprising the girls with their ferocity. There were never any warnings, no oaths, no declarations of any kind about why they were attacking. They just attacked. Worse yet, they seemed to know the true identities of the Senshi, and they targeted them directly. They didn't notice or care if innocent people were in the crossfire, but they never actually tried to attack them deliberately. The attacks had been following a fairly clear pattern as well, with each attack the number of demons and the types of attacks they used were changed. The creatures were obviously searching for a weakness to be exploited. This time they had struck for real. 

The Inners were caught by surprise as they walked together through an amusement park on a rare day away from Juuban. Ami had been brutally eliminated before any of the Senshi could transform. Venus, arguably the most experienced of the Senshi died seconds after she transformed. She didn't deliver a single attack. Jupiter and Mars managed to take down one of the creatures together, but that was their final act. Queen Serenity would have been proud of the way Usagi fought, though she was hopelessly outclassed she managed to kill 2 of the demons with the Crystal. Usagi was the last to fall. One of the remaining demons, a brutal looking monstrosity like some great gorilla with glowing red eyes and vicious claws slowly choked the life from her as she struggled weakly against him. As her struggles died down, he twisted her head to the side sharply, and grinned in satisfaction at the hideous snap.

Pluto herself arrived to help just before her princess' death, but the other remaining demons had kept her too occupied to save Usagi. She saw the last moments of Sailor Moon, and the demon survived her fury for precisely as long as it took her to scream out the name of her attack. A black dome enclosed the monstrosity that had destroyed her future, ripping it from timestream and casting it into an eternal timeless void.

It was a forbidden attack because it disrupted the flow of time and temporarily weakened the timestream itself. That didn't matter at the moment, her connection to the Gates told her that her fellow Outters had met the same fate. They hadn't even had a chance to transform before they were caught.

Pluto briefly considered remaining to try avenging her princess and comrades, but the first creature she had faced wounded her. Against the two that remained she found herself becoming quickly overwhelmed.

Pluto watched her actions play themselves out in the gates. She saw herself wounded again, but more severely when she tried to ambush her assailants in a dark alley as they stalked her. She smiled as she watched the death throws of one of those monstrosities. Her ambush had at least been a limited success. She only had one creature left to deal with, but her energy was failing her quickly.

Fleeing again had been the only choice. Returning to the time gates to recover her strength would have been the wisest choice, but she was too angry at the loss of her friends to consider a true retreat. Perhaps another opportunity would present itself to strike at this one. Unfortunately it seemed more intelligent than it's fellows, and tricking it again would not be easy.

Her second attempt at an ambush had failed miserably. The creature somehow guessed at her intentions, instead of coming at her directly as it had previously it managed to outflank her. When she stopped to pull her surprise attack she could not find her victim. Until she was struck from behind by some kind of fireball. 

Pluto had almost no memory of the events being played out next. She remembered fear, hopelessness, and remorse for her friends. She remembered wishing the demon's next blow would finish her so that at least she could join her friends. She had no clear idea why she was still alive.

She watched in horror as a civillian jumped down into the street and confronted the beast. He looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, quite handsome actually, though that was of no consequence to Pluto as she watched the scene unfold. She prepared herself to see the young man beaten to death by her savage enemy. Then blinked in surprise when it spoke to him.

"I felt your approach," it said, facing off against the young man. 

"Then you should have run," he replied. Suddenly he was surrounded by a pale aura of blue light.

Pluto breathlessly watched the short battle, and nearly cried out a warning to her saviour when he reached out to take her staff. Only to swallow her cry in shock. Instead of killing the young man painfully, it transformed in his hand and seemed to magnify his impressively glowing aura into a frighteningly bright nimbus. The blue light surrounding him easily lit the entire street, casting everything in a blue tint. The young man killed her assailant almost casually, striking him only once before decapitating him with the transformed weapon. Then naming himself Guardian.

Unfortunately the time gate went black at that moment, and Pluto could not determine what happened next. How had she come to awaken before the Timegates. She could see her staff leaning against the gate, and it relieved her that it appeared to be restored from it's transformation.

She knew instinctively that she could not have brought herself back in the condition she'd been in. Nor could she have healed herself, she didn't share Saturn's gift in that regard.

Briefly she thought that perhaps Saturn had escaped when the other Outers were destroyed, but she knew that was impossible. She'd felt Saturn's death along with the others, and Hotaru wouldn't have been able to bring her to this place in any case. The injustice of the situation screamed out to her, demanding that she undo the damage caused to her friends, and the cherished future that was Crystal Tokyo.

Pluto gazed again at the Gateway. She would break the trust given to her by Queen Serenity, she would travel back in time to the moment of the attack against the Sailors and warn them. As long as she lived she would not allow the dream of Crystal Tokyo to die.  
Opening the gate to allow for time travel required focus, and strength of will. Most minds would crack under the pressure of forcing themselves through what was, in all practicality one of the most implacable forces in existence. Only a very disciplined mind could control the gates. Pluto had centuries of experience with manipulating the timestream, and she knew it was within her power to move herself back through it. Summoning her resolve, Pluto reached out to take hold of the Time Key. The staff that represented her position as protector of the gates, and allowed her to focus her will and mind to the task of opening the gates themselves for her passage.

An instant before her hand was to touch the staff she felt a pulse of power radiate from it, and she jerked her hand away in shock. She was familiar with that reaction from the Key, it was a warning. If she touched the staff it would destroy her, just as it would destroy anyone that was not permitted access.

Pluto stared in disbelief at the Key, and realized for that it was rejecting her for the first time. She'd been able to call up the visions of what happened to her Princess and the others, but she could not open the Gateway. Nor could she feel the bond to the Gates that she had once taken for granted. The gentle sensation like a stream flowing through her mind was gone. It's infinate simplicities, and complexities both denied to her.

How then had she called up those painful visions? Her powers must not have left her completely, though she had little doubt that she would suffer for the loss of her weapon the next time she faced battle. She would have to find another way to avenge her friends and restore the future.

---------------------------

Ranma laid sleeping on his futon in his quiet Juuban apartment as Nabiki watched over him. He had returned from his confrontation with the demon looking rather proud of himself, if a little confused, and clearly exhausted. He had practically passed out upon returning. Though he had given Nabiki a short, and slightly scattered summary of what happened when he returned. Just before dropping onto his futon like a lead weight.

Apparently he had succeeded in killing the monster, but misplaced the damsel in distress. When he'd turned around to check on her after the fight she had been gone. Though her blood remained behind as evidence of her former presence. He'd searched the area for awhile before giving up and returning to find Nabiki still waiting for him on the roof of his apartment building.

Nabiki flicked on the tv to watch the news while she considered the latest incident. Ranma's behaviour right before he ran off to the rescue had been terrifying. He'd mentioned to her before that people sometimes radiated emotions through thier aura, and that he could read those emotions if he had to. It was a technique he'd learned from Cologne recently, it was meant to be used during a fight as a method of predicting how an enemy would strike. He apparently had an unusual gift for it, in that he could see auras now with great detail. Cologne had been very impressed when Ranma told her what he was seeing. He hadn't told her everything. He'd kept from her that since he began using the technique as he watched the Sailors fight he'd begun to see magic as well as the general chi auras the technique was intended for. He'd told Nabiki, but he'd hadn't mentioned it being anywhere near as specific as what she had seen on the roof.

It was as if Ranma could sense the thoughts of both the demon, and the wounded Senshi. That certainly wasn't part of what he'd told her. They were not even in view when he did it!

Nabiki didn't notice the tv until she heard the newscaster mention the Sailor Senshi. 

"-erious figure came to the rescue of the downed Sailor Pluto this evening, decapitating another of the creatures that spread such distruction at the Hanamaru Amusement Park. While not all the Senshi have yet been located, it is believed that many died in the first altercation at the park. "

"Footage from the Hanamaru security cameras indicates that the beasts attacked a group of five teenage girls without warning, one of the young women was killed immediately, the others proceeded to transform into the Sailor Senshi."

"The Senshi were unable to handle the number of creatures they faced, despite reinforment in the form of Sailor Pluto towards the end of the confrontation. Video evidence seems to indicate that Pluto alone survived the encounter, fleeing with the remaining two beasts in pursuit."

Nabiki stared dumbly at the screen. Those creatures had killed Sailor Senshi? She had never really cared much one way or the other for the Sailors, they were not a Neriman phenominon, and she found it hard to believe they were the only defence the planet had against evil. Especially since several people she knew could probably beat back most of the monsters they faced with thier bare hands.

"The body of one of the pursing monsters was later found in downtown Juuban where it had apparently been decapitated. There was a single witness to this altercation, but he is currently being held for questioning by police investigators."

The following scene showed a harried looking young Japanese man being escorted into a police station by several officers, while several reporters milled around yelling questions. Despite the officers attempts to keep the man from speaking he managed to make one short statement. "He saved her, The Guardian killed the monster."

"Kuso," Nabiki muttered under her breath. "There just had to be a bloody witness." 

The fight had only taken place two hours ago, and already it was big news. Though with the deaths of several superheros involved that was not too surprising.

Nabiki sighed to herself, and turned off the television. She could already see how this would turn out. The press would be looking for The Guardian now. So would the police. In all likelihood whoever had killed the rest of the Senshi would not be pleased, and even Pluto herself would probably try to track down her rescuer if and when she recovered. Ranma had been absolutely certain she survived, despite being unable to find her.  
It all added up to a major nightmare for the middle Tendo daughter. Ranma had inadvertantly become a bloody Superhero.

That Nabiki had no problems seeing him in that role disturbed her. What else was a world class martial artist with no real education to do? "Wasn't life crazy enough without this"  
Nabiki muttered to herself.

Grabing her organizer from her bag Nabiki settled in to solve the latest complication Ranma had presented her with. The situation was too volitile to let Ranma handle it alone, she would just have to think it through before he woke up. 

--------------------

"I'm not a superhero!" Ranma protested, an argument which had not been getting him very far since he woke.

"Let's review: You rescued a beautiful woman from ninjas, then magically transformed so that you could send her on her way without being recognised"

"That was your idea, Nabiki."

"Then you somehow sense a demon attack, rescue another beautiful woman, this one complete with her own magical powers. You kill the demon using a magical transforming staff while dodging fireballs. Then you posed over the dead body and called yourself The Guardian, while glowing no less. They are already talking about you on the news Ranma. Face it, you're a bloody superhero now."

"I wonder what happened to that staff thing, I've never felt anything like that before." Ranma mused.

"Focus Ranma!" 

"I don't see the big problem, it's not the first time I had to fight a monster. Tarou's cursed form, Herb, Ryoga, Saffron, that stupid phoenix thing on Kuno's head, the Ghoul, the Perv, those big animals in Ryoganzawa, the Oorochi, those idiots that kept trying to kidnap Akane. The staff didn't even throw fire and ice like the one's Saffron had. Those weren't decent ninjas either, Akane would have pounded them easily. It'll blow over again."

Nabiki shook her head sadly before replying. "Not this time Ranma, it might have blown over if the Sailor Scouts hadn't been involved, but they have quite the reputation. To the general public you're not Ranma the Martial Artist, you're the mysterious 'Guardian' that rescued Sailor Pluto." 

"Sailor Pluto?"

"Yeah, they mentioned her name on the news. Along with a few guesses about your origins that you'd probably find flattering."

"Why would she name herself after Mickey Mouse's dog?"

"The planet Pluto!!!" Nabiki growled in frustration, "Now you're trying to piss me off." 

"Yep."

"Just you wait Ran-chan...one of these days..." Nabiki trailed off menacingly.  
Ranma grinned at her and stuck out his tongue. It wasn't often he got to be on the winning side during one of their verbal sparring matches. He was actually surprised at Nabiki's insistance about this whole superhero thing. She'd been pushing him about it since he'd woken up a half hour earlier.

"I don't see why I need the whole secret identity thing, I fight challenges all the time. It's just a different group of challengers."

"You have been watching these things fight the Sailors for a while now Ranma. How powerful are they?" Nabiki asked, trying to find a new track.

Ranma thought about it for a moment, recalling some of the near misses he'd seen the Sailors pull through. "They've got a lot of power, but they aren't really a threat. It's like fighting a version of Akane that can use magic. I'm surprised that Sailor Pluto was beaten like that though, she always seemed like one of the leaders. I'm sure she's stronger than that demon was, and she has magic like it did. I've seen her fight, she should have mopped the floor with that thing."

"Could they kill me?"

Ranma shifted uneasily before responding, "You're not a martial artist, Nabiki."

"Could they kill Ukyou?"

"Probably."

"What about Shampoo"  
He laughed a little at the idea of one of the demons defeating Shampoo. It would be interesting to see her give it the Kiss of Marriage. "I think she might be able to beat it, Cologne definitely could."

"There you have it then, Ranma. You need a secret identity." Nabiki stated.

"hunh"  
Ranma responded unintelligently, trying to understand the connection.

"That was a demon, not another martial artist. Saffron kidnapped Akane to get at you, so did Pantyhose. How much further would a demon go? Would that beast today have killed Kasumi to get your attention? Maybe decapitating Akane would be a nice clear signal to you. Or making fiancee okinomiyaki out of Ukyou." Nabiki glared at Ranma as she tried to nail her point home. "The Guardian has no family, no friends, no fiancees, no weaknesses the demons might exploit. Let him fight them, Ranma can stay in the background for the sake of everyone."

Over the years some aspects of Ranmas life had changed very little. He still had more problems and enemies than a man four times his age would reasonably have had time to accumulate. Still, his life had an order to it of a sort, owing in large part to Nabiki's intervention. He had his part-time jobs back in Nerima, he had an apartment where he could sleep peacefully without having to worry about fiancees, rivals, or idiot pandas disturbing him, and he had his Martial Arts.  
Now Nabiki herself seemed hell-bent on getting him to re-complicate his life. This whole superhero thing seemed like overreacting to Ranma. Martial artists protect the weak, he was a martial artist. Why shouldn't he kill a monster if he had to protect somebody? Somebody had to, and it was a bit of a rush.

Trained to fight since he could walk, the Art was more than a matter of self defense for Ranma, it was a way life. It was the only life he knew.  
Ranma was a great martial artist, almost certainly the greatest of his generation. However the prospect of inheriting her family dojo by marrying Akane and spending the rest of his life as a teacher sickened him. Not because of Akane, or at least not just for that reason, but because he didn't really want the adventures to end. He looked at her father and saw what he might become if he lived that life. Practicing the Art, but tired and complacent about it. Training half-heartedly, if at all, and never improving.  
How would a superhero's life be different? He recalled the incidents of his day leading up to the confrontation with the demon. He'd been bored roof-hoping with nothing to do before the ninja attack, and he'd enjoyed facing off against the demon. Superheroes fought a lot didn't they? He never saw them do anything else on TV or in the movies. Nabiki had told him there were more of those demons, that a lot of them had attacked the Sailor Senshi in an amusement park. What would fighting a few of those things be like?

"What are you thinking about Ranma?" Nabiki asked, looking at Ranma with concern. "You look like your mind is somewhere else."

Ranma mentally cursed himself for letting his mind wander, had she still been talking? Ignoring Nabiki during an argument was like fighting the Ghoul blindfolded, but more painfull in the end. Shifting awkwardly under Nabiki's gaze. "It sounds like a plan the Panda might come up with."

Nabiki smacked Ranma lightly on the back of the head. "No need to get offensive, I am being perfectly reasonable. I can tell you enjoyed that fight, and I am telling you how to get more like it without dragging everyone you know in with you."

"What about you?"

"I am already in, and I am staying in." Nabiki said, "Every superhero needs help behind the scenes. Batman had Alfred, the Guardian will have Nabiki." 

"You want to be involved too?" Ranma almost stuttered in shock, he wasn't sure if he was worried or relieved. If Nabiki was there then he had no doubt they could pull it off, he just couldn't understand why she was volunteering for chaos. "Are you sure?"

Nabiki smiled to herself. Ranma had basically already agreed to her terms, though he seemed unaware of it. There were a lot of details to work out, but that was one of her specialties. He would get the chance to fight the good fight, and Nabiki would help him. They could discuss who was really in charge later. "I am in."

-  
Note: The majority of this chapter was actually written while I was in Japan using a palmtop organizer. That organizer is long dead now, but thankfully one of the CF cards I used to use with it had all the preliminary writing for this chapter. I was reclutant to release this chapter as is, I do not like it as much as the first chapter, but the setup work in it was necessary. I have a lot of ideas for the future, I'm still trying to flesh some of them out, and determine where they fit in the overall storyline. One of the things I've learned from fanfics, comics, tv, and movies is that once a character is fully established the interesting part is over. Clark Kent was a lot more interesting than Superman, and the X-Men are a lot less interesting than Generation X where the mutant heroes are still learning their powers. 

I'm betting many of you are going to be questioning why Nabiki would push the superhero idea, she has her reasons. 

I need to acknowledge that I am not an expert on Sailor Moon. It was an interesting choice to use Sailor Pluto considering she's probably the character I know the least about. When I wrote the original chapter I had a discussion with a Sailor Moon fanatic and we went over the origins of Sailor Pluto and some of the popular fanon facts that have been invented about her. Most of my knowledge of her is based on fanfiction crossovers I've read in the past. The Church of Time and Chaos used to be excellent for stories where Sailor Pluto interacted with Ranma, though I don't think that site has been updated in quite some time.

Coming up in the next chapter: What happens when the Guardian meets the failed protector? Pink Sailor, what pink sailor? 


End file.
